Bogota, Colombia - May 1, 2024

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced this Wednesday that he will break diplomatic relations with the State of Israel as of this Thursday, May 2.

He gave the news during his speech in the Plaza de Bolivar, in the center of Bogota, before thousands of protesters who took to the streets to commemorate International Labor Day and to support the Government's social reforms.

Among the flags waved by the thousands of attendees were some from Palestine.

Previously, Petro compared the situation in Gaza to that of the Auschwitz concentration camp and Israel responded with strong criticism and the suspension of exports of security equipment. “If we have to suspend foreign relations with Israel, we suspend them. We do not support genocides. The president of Colombia is not insulted,” Petro responded on October 16.

SHOTLIST
1. Various of the act;
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish) President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro
"The government of change, the president of the Republic reports that tomorrow diplomatic relations with the State of Israel will be broken (...) for having a government, for having a genocidal president (...) it cannot be, it cannot return, they cannot When times of genocide arrive, of the extermination of an entire people before our eyes, before our passivity, if Palestine dies, humanity dies and we are not going to let it die, just as we are not going to let humanity die."